This invention relates to new fruit products, and more particularly to a new shelf stable or refrigerated fruit product having little or no sugar and optionally also containing one or more artificial or non-nutritive sugar sweeteners.
There exist numerable food products that are designated as “sugar-free” or “no sugar added” products in which sweetening, if needed, is provided by artificial sweeteners such as saccharin, aspartame, and sucralose. In general, these are designated for low calorie diets or restricted diets such as those for diabetics. For the most part, replacement of sugar in such products by such artificial sweeteners has been a relatively straightforward matter. However, it was determined by us that replacement of sugar in a fruit product was not at all straightforward. In carrying out work to produce artificially sweetened shelf-stable or refrigerated fruit products, it was found that in some instances such as citrus fruits, segments absorbed water from the packing liquid to such an extent that they began to disintegrate. In other instances, for example, with fruits other than citrus fruits, we found that deterioration of the texture of the fruit occurred. We determined that this is caused by osmosis; i.e., osmotic pressure differences between the packing medium, which has a low solid content, and the fruit, with relatively higher solid content, drive water from the medium into the fruit, causing fruit disintegration.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a fruit product, particularly a thermally processed or refrigerated product, and more particularly a citrus fruit product, packed in a packing liquid, having little or no sugar and optionally also containing one or more artificial or non-nutritive sweeteners, in which the structural integrity and/or the texture of the fruit or fruit segments is maintained.